Improvement in green-corn cutters



\ J. T. FOLK & 0. H. CASTLE.

Green-Corn Gutter.

No. 203,642. Pa't'ented May14,1878.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIOE.

JAMES T. POLk, or GREENWOOD, AND OLIVER E. OASTLEOE INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, SAID OASTLE ASSIGNOR TO SAID POLK.

|MPROVEM ENT |N GREEN-CORNOUTTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 203,642, dated May 14, 1878; application filed March 2, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES T. POLK, of

Greenwood, in the county of Johnson, and

OLIVER H. CASTLE, of Indianapolis, in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Green-Corn Gutters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

f Our invention relates to an improved ma- .chlne designed for cutting green corn from the cob.

The object of our invention is to remove the kernels of green corn from the cob and the juice and chit preparatory to canning the same. v

Our invention consists of the new construc-` tion and arrangementof parts, and in the new combination o f old elements, all of which, singly or combined, are deemed essential in our newly-organized green-corn cutters, and which will b e hereinafter described and set forth.

We are aware of Letters Patent granted to B. Merrit, February, 1874, and to V. Barker, February, 1875, in which there may be some outward resemblance to our invention; but in `the details of construction and mode of oper- Fig. 4 represents a Short section i of the piston.` Fig. 5 represents a front view of the cob- `scraping device. l Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the front metallic frame.

AA represent the side frames, united together by the front and rear metallic frames B B2, by means of the flanges B1 B1, and Suitable bolts or screws.

The front metallic frame is formed with the web B and side flanges B1 B1, and has around opening in its center, with annular rims a c? ateach side, `and a central flange, a4, as shown in the horizontal section in Fig.l `6'. Inside of theannular rim a, at the front of the metallic frame B, operates an annular ring, (l. This ring is held in position by the inner flange a4 and the grooved rollers D D D D, said rollers revolving on studs secured to the frame B, and the ring C is permitted to partially 'revolvebn said rollers.'

To the front of the frame B the bell-crank levers E E E1 El are attached by pivot-studs F F F F, on which they operate loosely. To one end of each of these levers is pivoted one end of the links frrw', and the other end of said links is pivoted to the annular ring (l, in the manner shown in Fig. l." The other ends of the upper and lower bell-crank levers FPE1 arealso pivotedl to one end of the links r? r4, and the `other end of said links is pivoted to the upper and lower cutter-frames H H. The corn-cutter yframesGr G are also connectedto the crank-levers E E by the links r3 r3 in the same manner. Each of said corncut' terframes is pivoted at its rear end to the metallic Aframe B2, so as to permit the front ends of the frames to open or close and prevent vlateral motion.` A- lever, K, is also attached to said ringC, with a spring, d, connected with it, and an adjustable screw-hook, f, which is supported in a standard, It, and operated by a nut, g.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when the leverLK iS moved in the direction of the arrow y'the'ring C is partiallyrotated in the grooves of the rollers D D D D', and the links r r T r cause the bell-crank levers E E E1 E1 to partially rotate on their studs, and the links r3 r3 at the sides draw the cutter-frames G G and cutters away from the center horizontally. At the same time the links r4 r4 cause the top and bottom cutterframes H H and their cutters to move away from the center vertically, and the same result is produced onnall the cutters and frames whenY an ear of corn is forced through the cutters. The lever K inthis case operates, in connectionwith the spring d, to hold the cutters in close contact with the corncob. f

rlhe horizontal cutter-trames G G are of the form shown in Fig. 2f The curvedl front ends are provided with curved Vshaped cuti ters o 01, which may be adjustable. The other cuttenframes, H H, are also provided with cut- .ters o2 o2 in the same manner, which are immediately in the rear of thecutters o o1. All of said cutters operate from a common center line, and all operate together by being simultaneously forced apart as the cob is pushedA through. The cutter-frames G G H H are curved at their union with the cutters 0'01 02 o2, and their inner curved edges are formed with knife-edges g2 g2, so as to cut slightly into the' cob, and thus regulate the depth of the cut of the cutters 0'0l o2 02. i

At the rear side of the front metallic plate on frame B, and operating in'rollers D' D' D' D', is another annular. ring, C'. (Shown in Fig. 3.) This ring has two links, W r', pivoted to it and to one arm of the bell-crank levers E2 E2. Said levers are also pivoted to the frame B by studs F'. To the other arms of said levers are pivoted one end ofthe links z5 T5. The other end of said links are pivoted to the corn-guidesS S. The corn-guides are supported by guide-rods p p p' p', which operate in the horizontal sockets or sleeves J J J J', and have lexibleguides s s at the extreme front end, to steady and guide the corn while passing into the cutters o 01 02 o2. To the annular ring C' is also attached a lever, K', operated by a spring, d', attached to a screw-hook, f', that is supported in the standard h' and provided with an adjusting-nut, gl.

.lt-will be seen from the foregoing that when the lever K is moved in the vdirection of the arrow y, Fig. 3, that the links of' r" operate the bell-crank levers F.2 E2, and the links v5 z5 draw the guides S S apart horizontally, andthe same result is produced when an ear of corn is introduced between the said guides. The object of the levers KK' is to permit the cutters to be opened, also the guides, whenever it may lbecome necessary to remove an ear of corn, or to clean the guides from husks or other matter.

The table L L is secured to the side frames A A, as shown in Figs. l and 2, and extends to near the center of the machine horizontally. It then descends and forms the hopper L', the curved bottom of which is just below the comm'on center of the cutter-frames and cornguides, and forms a support for the corn m to rest on in front of the plunger M.

The movable head -t' t' is a piece of sheetsteel, bent in a circular form, so as to form a spring-clamp around the piston M M', produc-` ing friction on said piston sufficient to cause the head t' t' to move to'and from the guides S as the piston moves. The spring'clamp t' t' is provided with hingelugs t t at.each side, in which are pivoted the hook-levers w u, as shown in Fig. 2.

The piston M is provided with a wooden end or plug, M', to prevent injury to the cutters o o vo2 o2 as the piston pushes the corn through them. Said piston operates in a suitable guide, u, formed or attached to the rear frame B1.

The piston enters the spring-clamp t' t', and as the said head or clamp moves forward the ends 'w of the hook-levers come in contact with Vthe ear of cor-n m, and are held there until the year has been forced into the guides S SJ, and the arms n u come in contact with .theystops c c 011 .the stop-rods R B', when the hook ends are forced open, and as the piston advances it is guided to the center of the ear of corn, and strikes and pushes the same centrally through the guides S S and spring or iiexible guides s s into the V-shaped cutters o2 o2, which cut oftl the kernels ofcorn from the top and bottom of the cob, and as the ear reaches the front V-shaped cutters o o1 the kernels of corn are cut from the sides of the cob. The cob is then pushed through between the scraper-Wires 7c lo, that are attached to the plate K' and end board N, where the juice and chit are scraped oft', and

the cobldrops outside of the machine. The frame N, with the scraper-wires k 7c, slides in grooves formed in the inner sides of vthe side frames A A, to facilitate the removal thereof for cleaning or other purposes. On the returnstroke of the piston 'M the movable head or clamp t' t' and hook-levers 'w n return until they reach the front side of the rear end frame B1,which stops it, and the piston continues to move back until the hooks w close over the wooden end M', after which the operation is repeated'.

It will be observed that all parts of our machine operate from a central line common to all the moving parts, and that the ear of corn operates each guide S S, and the cob operates all thev cutters, which adjust themselves centrally to all sizes of ears simultaneously.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The end frame B, with grooved rollers D and bell-crank levers E E', combined with the annular ring C and links r rw, in the mannqer andfor the purpose substantially as shown and described.

2. The end frame B,with grooved rollers D, bell-crank levers E El, combined with the annular ring C, links 1' 1' r r, and links r3 r3 r4 r4,

and cutter-frames GG' H H, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

3. The cutter-frames H H, with curved cutters o2 o2, having V-shaped cutting edges, combined with the links r4 r4, the levers E El, the links r r, and annularring C, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

4. The cutter-frames Gr G', with curved cut-- ters o 01, having V-shaped cutting-edges, combined with the links r3 r3, the bell-crank le# vers E E, the annular ring C, the links 1' r, the lever lc, and the spring d, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

5. The annular ring C, with lever K and spring d, combined with the frame B, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

6. The annular ring C', with lever K' and spring d', combined with the frame B and annular ring C, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

7. The annular ring C', with links r" W, combinedwith the levers E2 E2, and frame B, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

8. The annular ring C', with links W W, com! the manner and for the purpose substantially.

as shown and described. j

10. The movable spring friction-clamps t t', with hinges t t and hook-levers w n, combined with the piston-rod M M and stop-bars R R', in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

11. The piston-rod M, with wooden end M', adapted to force the ear of corn from the hopper L through the adjustable guides S S and the curved cutters o o? o2 o', with V-shaped cutting-edges, in the manner and for the pun pose substantially as shown and described.

l2. The wire scrapers attached to the end board N, and adapted to removethe juice and chit from the cob, when said cob is forced through between them by the piston M M', in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described- 13. rlhe V-shaped corn-guides S S, having a positive connection with the annular ring C and a simultaneous movement ylaterally from a center line common to each other and to the curved cutters o o1 o2 o, in the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described. 1

14. The circular cutters o o1 o2 o2, with V- shaped cutting-edges, having a positive connection with the ring C and a simultaneous movement laterally and vertically from a commoncenter, in the manner and for the purpose `substantially as shown and described.

l5. The cutter-frames G Gr' H H, with knifeedges g2 g2, adapted to act as guides to the corn while it is passing from the iiexible guides s s into the cutters o o1 o2 o2, and regulate the depth of cut of the cutters, in the manner and for the purpose substantially yas shown and described.

In testimony whereof We have signedV our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES T. POLK. OLIVER H. CASTLE.

Witnesses:

E. ().^FR1NK, G. J. BRACICEBUSH. 

